


To Hold the Past

by estelraca



Category: Kamen Rider Den-O
Genre: Christmas, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 06:19:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17136572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estelraca/pseuds/estelraca
Summary: Ryuutaros wants to get the perfect gift for Airi for Christmas.  He was going to draw something, but then Momotaros says that's childish.





	To Hold the Past

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BetaCentauri](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetaCentauri/gifts).



> Happy holiday season! I hope you enjoy this take on the Imagin having holiday adventures.

_To Hold the Past_

Ryuutaros hums softly to himself as he works on the present he's going to give Airi this year. His drawing skills have improved, he thinks. And Ryoutarou gave him a set of colored pencils on the day that's been designated as the Imagins' birthday—the day they defeated Kai but somehow still survived, living in the space created by the memories they forged throughout their time with Ryoutarou. This is going to be the best present he's ever drawn, and will hopefully make Christmas—which can be a hard time for Airi—a little bit easier.

"What're you doing?" Momotaros looks over Ryuutaros' shoulder, spying without permission.

"Drawing. What's it _look_ like I'm doing, dummy?" Ryuutaros tries to shield the paper with his body.

"Aren't you a little old to be drawing presents like that?" Momotaros takes a step back, obviously annoyed that Ryuutaros doesn't want him to look.

"What do you mean?" Ryuutaros looks down at the drawing, then up at the other Imagin.

"Airi's not a little girl, and she's not your mother." Momotaros shakes his head. "She's a _woman_. You don't go giving a woman something silly like that year after year. Aren't you growing up at all?"

"I'm more mature than you are!" Ryuutaros leaps to his feet, grabbing the picture and holding it tight to him so that no one can see what the image is.

"True, but not much of an accomplishment." Urataros enters the train car, looking between Ryuutaros and Momotaros. "What's going on?"

"Just trying to teach the kid a bit about life." Momotaros waves a hand at Ryuutaros. "If he doesn't want to listen, that's not my problem."

"Urataros..." Ryuutaros sneaks a glance at the picture, then presses it against his chest again. Had he really thought it looked impressive two minutes ago? He's been to museums. He's seen true art now. Shame keeps the picture pressed against his chest now. "What kind of gifts do you get for a woman?"

"For a woman?" Urataros lifts one hand to caress his chin. "Well, of course it depends a bit on the type of woman. Some prefer something traditional, like flowers or candy. Others something a bit more practical—perfume, a make-up that you know they like, things of that nature. Still others are more playful, and something—"

"I need money for all of that." Ryuutaros frowns down at the table-top he had been using as his drawing surface. Gathering his pencils up, he sprints for the steps down from the train.

And straight into Deneb and Kintaros. He stares at the two Imagin, surprised to see them together, but then recognizes the towel draped around Kintaros' neck. Apparently the two of them are coming from a bath. Ryuutaros doesn't understand how some of the others can spend practically hours just sitting still in the hot water, but at least it means he doesn't have to go looking for Deneb. "Deneb, I need your help."

Deneb freezes, then raises both hands to his head. "Ah, Ryuutaros, you know that I'm happy to assist you any—"

"I need a job." Ryuutaros cuts off whatever ridiculous speech Deneb was planning on making. "I need to earn money."

"Money?" Kintaros cracks his neck. "A worthwhile cause, I suppose."

"I need to make it quickly." Christmas is in, what... a week? It had seemed like a very long time when he was planning on drawing his gifts, but now it seems like a very short time. "Will you help me find something?"

"I... can see what I can do." Deneb's posture changes from hesitant to excited as he continues to process the request. "Yes—yes, I think I can help you! I've done a lot of little jobs for people, when I was trying to get people to remember Yuuto. I'm certain I can help you find a quick part-time job to get you a bit of money."

"Awesome!" Ryuutaros grabs Deneb by the wrist. "Let's go, then."

Ryuutaros doesn't realize until they've arrived at the open-air mall that Kintaros has followed, but he supposes it doesn't matter much. All he has to do is follow some human's instructions, make some money, and buy a present.

It can't be that difficult, right?

XXX

"Explain to me again where things went wrong."

Ryuutaros scuffs his foot against the ground. He isn't sulking. He most definitively isn't sulking. He's just... letting his displeasure with the situation be known. That's what Urataros would say, right? "It's not my fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's Momotaros'."

"Mine?" Momotaros breaks from his spot at the end of the line of Imagin, storming towards Ryuutaros. "I was on the train until the very end! How can this possibly be my fault?!"

"You were the one who had to be a jerk about my drawing!" Ryuutaros looks up, and his whole body feels hot and sticky. If he were human—if he were borrowing Ryoutarou's body—he thinks he would be crying right now. "I just wanted to have a nice present for Airi."

Ryoutarou's expression softens. Not that it had been hard to begin with—despite everything they've been through, he's still a big softy, and Ryuutaros is pretty sure he always will be. That's all right. It's how Airi likes him, and it's how Ryuutaros has come to like his human, too. Ryoutarou's voice is quiet when he speaks, but full of his stubborn determination. "I know it can hurt when someone insults something important to us, but that's no reason to blow up a shopping mall, Ryuutaros."

"If I may—" Deneb steps out of line, one hand held up. "I feel some of this may be my fault. Ryuutaros asked if I had any expertise in interacting with people and perhaps earning a bit of extra money, and I thought that I did. Oh, Yuuto is going to be so disappointed in me—" Deneb cuts himself off, though he continues to pace back and forth. "Except... well... things didn't go quite as well as I expected."

"I was doing just fine." Ryuutaros crosses his arms in front of his chest. "I was being one of those hand-out-fliers people. We've done it before, and it's easy enough."

"But then we were fired from that position because Ryuutaros broke the suit." Kintaros doesn't make any effort to soften the words, and Ryuutaros glowers at him.

"That wasn't my fault! That kid saw me dancing and challenged me to a contest." Ryuutaros turns to Ryoutarou. "The suits should be able to withstand a little spin and flare, right?"

"I'm pretty sure that's not what they're designed for." Ryoutarou sighs. "All right, after that what happened?"

"We were asked to leave the establishment." Deneb wrings his hands together.

Kintaros nods. "I tried to reason with the owner, but he seemed to take offense at the idea I would make him cry, even if the cause would be the disappointment he was causing to Ryuutaros."

Ryoutarou buries his face in his hands for a few seconds. "All right. Then what?"

Kintaros continues speaking. "I thought perhaps we could earn a bit of coin via manual labor. I'm strong, and Deneb and Ryuutaros are both decently strong as well. There was a store that had just had a delivery... I thought it was reasonable to assist in the unpacking and then expect compensation."

Deneb sighs. "I really should have arranged for compensation prior to our doing the work."

Ryuutaros glares at the floor again. "They _cheated_ , though. They were getting a lot of attention—so many kids thought we looked really cool hefting those big bags about!"

"It was a truly dishonorable action." Kintaros drops his hands to his sides, both of them fisted. "I don't appreciate it."

"I understand." Ryoutarou holds his hands up placatingly. "What I _don't_ understand is how that then evolved into... what was that? A portal to another dimension?"

Deneb looks at Kintaros.

Kintaros looks at Ryuutaros.

Ryuutaros stares at Ryoutarou. "It wasn't my fault! I told you that. We were just looking for our next job and that thing opened up and starting disgorging monsters at us!"

"You really..." Ryoutarou looks from Ryuutaros to Kintaros to Deneb. "Did you really not have anything to do with it?"

"I didn't!" Ryuutaros stomps his foot. "And the fact that you won't believe me about that is typical and awful and I—I'm going back to the Den-Liner. Just leave me alone!"

He stomps off, not listening to the sounds of the others talking behind him.

It doesn't matter what they say, anyway. It's clear he's not going to have any present for Airi before Christmas, and that was the only thing that mattered.

XXX

There's a knock on his train car door.

Ryuutaros ignores it, staying wrapped up in his blanket on his bunk. He doesn't care who it is. He doesn't want to talk to them. They'll just try to make him feel better, and that's not what he wants right now.

He _is_ maturing, no matter what the others want to believe or say. He's _learning_. How could he not? He's alive, and they're seeing so much, every day... they're _remembering_ so much. They're carrying whole worlds with them, just like the humans do, and he had begun to think that maybe... well, maybe they stood on equal footing with the humans.

That was a silly thought. Ryoutarou is the important person in their group. They lent him their strength, yes, but he has always been the one who is the Singularity Point, the one who can actually _change_ things. Even Yuuto doesn't matter compared to him, and Yuuto is still more important than the Imagin themselves.

"Ryuutaros?"

Ryuutaros sits bolt upright. "A-airi?"

"Can I come in?" There's another light knock.

Ryuutaros shoves the blanket to the end of the bunk. "Uh... yes. Or we could—"

But Airi is already entering his home. She knows about them, now—it had been impossible to keep them a secret, and he is glad that she knows _him_ now, that he is more than just a strange skip to her brother's step. To have her _here_ , looking around his room—

Her hands trace over a picture he taped to the wall, a strange little composition of butterflies and stars that he made when Ryoutarou first gave him the colored pencils. "You've gotten so much better! I'm impressed."

"Uh... thank you." Ryuutaros feels himself hunching down, his shoulders drawn in tight. "Can I help you? Did you... need something?"

"Just to talk to you." She gestures to the bunk next to him. "Is it all right if I sit?"

He nods, and she does, leaving a respectable distance between them.

"Ryoutarou sent you." Ryuutaros sounds more bitter than he intended.

"No. He said you were having trouble, and I said I wanted to help if I could." Airi's hand moves so that her fingers are just grazing his. "Can I help?"

Ryuutaros risks a glance at her and then looks away again. "I don't know. I want..."

What is it that he wants? To find his place in this world, he supposes. To be Ryoutarou's friend. To matter to Airi. To keep traveling with his companions—to have Momotaros and Kintaros and Urataros with him. To draw, to capture a little bit of the world that he's seeing in his own images and share it with the people who matter to him. What is an Imagin supposed to do when they're complete unto themselves, with memories and hopes and dreams and a _future_?

He draws a long, deep breath. "I wanted to give you an amazing Christmas present. I told Momotaros that I was going to draw you something, and he... he said that was childish. That I shouldn't still be doing that, and that you wouldn't like it. So then I decided I was going to try to earn some money, so I could get you something actually nice. Except everything went wrong, and maybe part of it was my fault but not _all_ of it and Ryoutarou wouldn't listen and—" Again he feels too hot, too suffocated, and he hates the feeling. "I'm sorry. Ryoutarou shouldn't have dragged you here and into this. It's a problem between us."

"You're my family, so a problem between you is a problem I want to help with if I can." Airi's fingers lace through his. "And there seem to have been some misconceptions about me that helped make this an incident in the first place. I love getting your pictures, Ryuutaros."

Ryuutaros glances up at Airi, but she seems completely serious.

Airi smiles. "I do. I'm not just saying it to make you feel better, I promise you. It's been amazing to watch you grow, as an artist and a person, and I'm glad to keep doing that."

Ryuutaros can't make himself look at Airi anymore. He still feels too warm, but it's a different type of warmth—not a close, suffocating warmth, but the type of warmth he feels when getting or giving a good hug.

"I would be very, very happy to get a picture from you for Christmas, or at any time." Airi's hand rises to touch his shoulder. "I would also be happy to get nothing from you but your company, because that's all I really need."

"Thank you." Ryuutaros lifts his head so that he can look at Airi properly. "I know I'm not actually your family, but—"

"But you are." Airi speaks firmly. "You're Ryoutarou's family. He loves you dearly, and that means you're my family. All right?"

"All right." Ryuutaros nods, his voice thick with all the emotions he's feeling. Maybe that's why humans cry—so they can let some of the emotion out before it gets to be too much.

Airi stands, taking a step away, and holds her arms out. "Would you like a hug?"

Ryuutaros nods, and launches himself into Airi's arms.

She isn't his sister. They're not even the same species. But she's Ryoutarou's sister, and she's one of the first people that Ryuutaros ever met, and certainly the first he thinks he ever loved. Being hugged by her feels like coming home.

"Now." Airi holds him out at arm's length. "No more sulking in here. You do what you need to do, and you get me whatever you want for Christmas, and I will love it. Especially if it's something from _you_ , something that _you_ think I'll enjoy."

"All right." Ryuutaros gives a firm nod, then impulsively reaches forward to hug Airi once more. "Thank you. You're the most amazing big sister in the world."

She smiles as she pats the back of his head. "And you're a pretty amazing little brother. So take care, all right?"

Ryuutaros nods, already humming to himself as he begins regathering his art supplies. Of course Momotaros was wrong. It really shouldn't surprise him—Momotaros is frequently wrong, though he's wrong with such _certainty_ it sometimes convinces Ryuutaros anyway.

Airi is gone when next he looks up, but that doesn't matter. Ryuutaros knows that they'll see each other again soon, and he's going to have the most amazing picture for her.

It won't be like something from one of the museums, no. And it won't be like his picture from last year. He's learned things since then—how to do better proportions, how to create depth to his images, how to blend colors so that they look a little more real.

And no museum would have a picture of Airi, Yuuto, Ryoutarou, Deneb, Momotaros, Urataros, Kintaros, and himself standing in front of a Christmas tree that they all decorated together. No one else would think it _matters_.

Ryuutaros knows it does, though.

Because memories make the world, and he... he's going to help make sure those memories stay sharp and fresh and clear for as long as he can.


End file.
